Split shingle



March 6, 1928.

G. E. NOBLE SPLIT SHINGLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. l, 1927 gwmmGeorgeE/Ob/e @gw W Patented Mar. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES GEORGE E. NOBLE, 0F CHEHALIS, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOB TG EIDE. LUKE, Ol' i SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

SPLIT SHINGLE.

Application led August l, 1927. Serial No. 208,854.

. My invention relates to a split shake or shingle. In particular, it isan improvement upon the shingle disclosed in the application of Frank L.Dietz, Serial Number 153,889, filed December 10, 1926, and upon Mr.Dietzs process for splitting out these shingles.

lin operating according to the Dietz process, the shakes which are splitout are always tapered, but occasionally, due to peculiarities of grainin a certain piece, or 1n a certain spot of a given piece, or dueperhaps to inaccuracy of the splitter, the shakes will taper out to afeather edge and will, perhaps, leave a jagged corner, which renders theshake oi second grade. It is an object of this invention to provide amethod of splitting, and to produce a shingle, in which the productionoit such seconds is almost wholly elimihated, and a method by means otwhich the thickness of the tip of the shakes or shingles can becontrolled as accurately as the thickness of the butts.

A further object is the elimination of grossly irregular surfaces,though still retaining the naturall split appearance, whereby Ythelaying o the shakes is made easier, and wherebytheywill t more closelyupon one another, and thus keep the roof ti hter.

y invention comprises the novel process and the novel product thereof,the product being illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the stepsof the process being illustrated by diagrams, and both product andmethod being disclosed in this specificationy and more particularlydelined by the claims terminating the same.

1n the accompanying drawings illustratinfr my improved process andproduct,

Figure 1 is a perspective view o a shake or shingle embodying myinvention and made in accordance with my process.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are cross sections on the respective lines 3 3, 4-4and 5-5 of Figure Qlat the tip, intermediate portion, and butt of ashingle.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a block, of which Figure 7 is a sideelevation, and Figures 8 and 9, 10 and 11 are similarly plan views andside elevations, illustrating the several steps in my process.

ln this specification I shall employ the 'term shake i or shingleinterchangeably,

for, as the description progresses, it will become apparent that mymethod is adapted to thp splitting out of true shakes which, properuniiiorm thickness throughout, or to the splitting out ot true shingles,which are boards tapering from butt to tip. Broadly speaking, myinvention relates to the establishment, prior to splitting, of thethickness of the board to be split, at each end; hence, if a shingle isto be split out in accordance with the Dietz method, it may bedetermined in advance just what thiclmess the tip will assume, or, if atrue shake is to be split, the thickness ot the two ends oi the shakemay be established before the shake is split out, so that it may be otsubstantiall uniform thickness, and so that it will be su stantiallyplane adjacent the ends and upon both faces.

As in the Dietz process, when my process is employed in the splittingout of tapered shakes or shingles, they are split from the blocktapering, so that no nishing action is required, so that all of the woodis used, and so that none is wasted.

According to m method, a block of suitable Wood, genera l one whichsplits easily, such as western redy cedar, is placed on end, and afterthe first or outside board is split 0H, the block, instead of beingimmediately upended as taught in the Dietz application, is scored acrossits end to deline the thickness of tip in the next shingle. Thereafter,it is reversed end for end and is split out, starting with the thicknessof butt desired in the next shingle, and this split will run out andeventually run into the split started from the revious end, so that thethickness of tip in t e shingle will be that determined by the hrstpreliminary scoring of the one end, and the thickness oi butt will bethat determined by the splitting starting from the opposite end.

Thus, as illustrated in Figures t? to 11, inclusive, the block 1 firsthad a board taken oi of the face 12, and, subsequently, had the frow 2placed across its end 10 close to the face 12, and a split 13 wasstarted. The frow, however, was immediately withdrawn, and the split 13extends only a short distance inward of the end 1G. The hlock is nowupended, and, we nd it in the position shown in Figures 6 and 7, restingupon its end l0, the end l1 being uppermost. Note, too, that it isplaced so as to out vertical speaking, are boards of substantially grainshingles. It is placed back from the corner 14 by an amount equal to thethickness of butt desired in the finished shingle, and the frow is thendriven through the block from the end 1l towards the end 10.

Note that the splitting progresses in advance of the frow 2. The edge ofthe frow is not a cuttin tool and does` not shave the material. Rat er,the frow acts as a wedge to split or part the fibers of the wood inadvance of it. In accordance with the Dietz invention, it will beevident that the split 15 now started bythe frow 2 will tend to taper 1out toward the corner 16, but will eventually meet or intersect thesplit 13, whereupon the shin le will split off of the block and therewillgbe formed a shingle which is substantially uniformly tapered from aperfect butt to a perfect tip. 1

The next step as shown in Fi es 8 and 9, is to place the frow along t eline 17 inward from the new upper ed e 16 by an amount equal to thethiclmess o tip desired in the next shingle. It is entered again, asseen in Figure 9, the new split 13 extending only part way of the lengthof the block. The frow is then withdrawn (although there is no reasonwhy it mi ht not remain in place exce t as 1t woul tend to continue thesplit arther), and the block is then upended to bring the end 10uppermost, as seen in Fi es 10 and 11. The ow is now laced bac of theedge 14', now uppermost,

y an amount equal to the thickness of butt desired in the new shingle,and is driven through the block as before, whereupon the split 15 willintersect with or coincide with the split 13', to form again a perfectand uniformly tapered shing e.

Referring to Fi res 1 to 5, inclusive, it will be seen that s gles thusformed have corners 14 and 24 at the butt, and which are both true straiht ed es, and which are substantially ar el. oreover, the upper andlower sur aces, just inward of these corners, are substantially plane,for each of these surfaces has been defined originally by the entranceof the frow. Moreover, at the ti the edges 16 and 26 are true strai ht ees, substantially parallel to each o er an to the edges 24 and 14, andthe surfaces immediately inward thereof are substantially plane, thesetoo having been formed by the entrance of the frow.

The continuation of the split 13 can sometimes be observed, but this isof little moment. It does not extend far, and, in fact, is scarcelynoticeable. In any event, as the shingles are laid in a roof, this splitand an feather edge which may result therefrom 1s beneath one or twocourses of shingles thereabove, and thus is held tightl against the woodbeneath and is protected).7

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the split 15 or15 is accomplished by entering the frow, and then using 1t as a pry tosplit the fibers, and this operation frequently leaves slight transversefrow marks on the surfaces of the wood with which the frow contacts.These frow marks are illustrated at 18 in Figure 1, in a somewhatexaggerated fashion. They are not deep, and, as mentioned above, arescarcely noticeable. They are shown in the drawing in order that it maybe understood how the shingle is s lit out, and as a guide to indicatefrom whic end the shingle was split out with the frow 2.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A rived shake taperin from a butt to a thinner tip, the butt thic essand the tip thickness being uniform throughout the width of the shake.

2. A rived shake taperin from a butt to a thinner tip, the tip and uttedges being straight.

3. A rived shake tapering from a butt to a thinner ti the two butt endedges being straight an parallel to each other, and the two tip edgesbeing likewise straight and parallel to each other.

4. A rived shake tapering from a butt to a thinner tip, the two butt endedges being straight an parallel to each other, and the two tip edgesbeing likewise straight and parallel to each other, and substantiallyparallel to the butt edges.

5. A rived shake tapering from a butt to a thinner tip, both the upperand lower faces, at butt and at tip, being substantially plane and innearly splarallel lanes.

6.A hand-split ake, t e upper and lower faces havin the naturally splitsurface extending su tially from end to end, and both the upper andlower faces, immediately at each end, being substantially p ane.

7. A shake tapered substantially uniformly from butt to tip, and bothfaces presenting a generally rough, naturally split surface, each end ofboth faces being substantially plane, and merging into the roughsurface.

8. A shake tapered from butt to tip, and having up er and lower surfacesnaturally split, and its tip of uniform thickness across its entirewidth.

9. The method of splitting shakes which consists in splitting successiveshakes from opposite ends of the blocks, initially scoring the end ofthe next shake at one end of the block before reversing the block tosplit off this shake from the opposite end.

10. The method of splittin shakes which consistsin scoring one end o ashake in the uppermost end of a block, reversing the block and s littingoff this shake from the opposite an now uppermost end, scoring the endof the next shake in the same end and at the same side of the block,then reversing IIB the block to split oi the second shake from theopposite end, and so on until the block is consumed.

11. The method of splitting tapered shakes which consists in splittingbutts of successive shakes alternately from opposite ends of the block,and scoring the tip end of each shake prior to commencing to split fromthe butt end.

12. The method of splitting tapered shakes from a wooden block whichconsists in enterin a wedge into an end of the block and space from itsed e by an amount equal to the tip thickness esired, to define the tip,reversing the block and driving the 15 wedge into the opposite end andat the same side of the block, and spaced from the edge by an amount ualto the butt thickness desired, forcing t e wedge endwise throu h theblock, then similarly, in succession efining the tip and the butt ofthenext shake at the same side, but at opposite ends, and forcing the wedgethrough the block from the end opposite the first.

Signed at Chehalis, Lewis County, lWash- 25 ington, this 21st day ofJuly 1927.

' GEORGE E. NOBLE.

